The United Nations has launched an appeal for nearly one billion dollar to meet the urgent needs of Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh, stressing the importance of establishing conditions for securing the safe return of those displaced.

The government in Bangladesh is rapidly pushing a controversial plan to relocate some 100,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar to an isolated and flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, where they may be stranded forever.

The number of refugees and asylum seekers living in food poverty in Britain has soared by 20 percent in a year, as thousands are left destitute even after being granted protection in the UK, The Independent can reveal.

Myanmar is building a camp to temporarily house 30,000 Rohingya Muslims targeted for repatriation after fleeing violence in Rakhine state, state media reported on Monday, as Myanmar and Bangladesh meet to discuss how to implement a repatriation deal.

At least eight people died and 86 others were rescued after a rubber dinghy starting sinking in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, according to the Italian coast guard, which said a search was continuing to find any more survivors.

Pope Francis on Monday called for peace in Beit-ul-Moqaddas in his traditional Christmas address and highlighted the plight of children scarred by conflict, after urging the world's 1.3 billion Catholics not to ignore migrants.

Italian authorities have indicated that some 10,000 refugees now stranded in Libya would be admitted to Europe in 2018 as part of efforts by the European Union to save asylum seekers living in inhuman conditions in the North African country.